Fascinating discussion.

I guess there’s more to the story about the enthusiast who was told to get far away. One would not expect such a hostile reaction is one was taking photos from an area that was open to the general public. And in any case, such a hostile reaction would be unacceptable in a public area. I certainly wouldn’t tolerate being spoken to in that manner.

I visited a museum yesterday. The two things that I noticed were the ages of the volunteers and the amount of “to be restored” equipment and items on show. I estimate there’s be millions and millions of dollars needed to “restore” what was on display. Mega millions of dollars - greenback ones that is.

And it’s not enthusiasts who are the bread and butter supporters of most museums. My experience is that on a normal day’s operation, it’s very rare to see a “camera toting gunzel” among the visitors. That was certainly the case yesterday. I’m purposefully not naming the museum because I was unexpectedly offered a sly drive. I realised how hard it would have been to be a motorman of a big red car. Standing up for the entire shift and needing strong pressure on the dead man’s handle!

I guess I’m biased but I believe what Ballarat has to offer is as good as anywhere in the (tramcar preservation) world in terms of presentation and public image. That’s no criticism of any other museum I’ve visited.

I’m privileged to be a currently active enthusiast who had the pleasure of riding and photographing the Bendigo system in SEC days from 1961 to 1972.

Paul who today expects to ride a horse tram.